Memories Of A Forgotten War

1hr 50min  |  English  |  Documentary, War, History

This feature-length documentary seeks to tell the tales of valour of the young soldiers and of the local people who participated in or witnessed the epic battles of World War II fought in Manipur and Nagaland in Northeastern region of India, which were the most important frontiers of what was more popularly known as the Burma Front.
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Synopsis

It is a universally known fact the World War II comprehensively changed the geopolitics of the world. Manipur and Nagaland in Northeastern region of India were important frontiers of the World War II in what was more popularly known as the Burma Front. In fact, it was in the rough terrain and dense jungles of Manipur and Nagaland that the Allied Army and its Japanese counterpart fought the decisive battles that stopped the Japanese advance into India. From India’s point of view, these battles were significant as apart from the fact that thousands of Indian soldiers were part of the Allied Army, the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army sought to fight against the British for India’s Independence by siding with the Japanese. However, until the recent declaration by the National War Museum of Britain that the Battle of Kohima was the most important battle fought by the Allied Army during the World War II, ahead of even the Normandy landing and many other such much better-known battles, the battles of Manipur and Nagaland hardly attracted any attention. This feature-length documentary film seeks to tell the tales of valour of those young soldiers, and of the local peoples who participated or witnessed those battles, thus seeking to bring the stories of Manipur and Nagaland’s role in the World War II comes to the mainstream. The film’s core idea is to record the memories of these veterans and witnesses about the life-changing events that they saw happening in front of their eyes. The stories from the battles of the World War II are partly captured in books written by those who fought in those battles and survived, and partly in the memories of these men as well as in the memories of the locals who had fought alongside, worked as helpers to soldiers of either side, or simply witnessed the battles that were fought in their backyards though they themselves had nothing to do with it. The survivors of these battles are all in their early to late 90s. Many of them now suffer from failing memories as well as various old-age ailments. Therefore, it is important to capture their memories as fast as possible, and through the memories of some of them, to tell the stories from the various important battles that were fought in Manipur and Nagaland. The interviews with the various war veterans and the witnesses that would be used in this film would be interspersed with depictions of how those very places that saw bloody battles look in today’s times. The journey between the past and the present would be done in such a manner as to recall the history and make it relevant to today’s times, so that the viewer understands how history of seven decades back is important for today’s times. The film aims at being an audio-visual document that will make for enthralling viewing, telling the stories of bravery and valour of a generation of people in a factual and emotionally-connective way.

Credits

director: Utpal Borpujari

producer: Subimal Bhattacharjee

Executive Producer: Joyeeta Bhattacharjee

Research: Lt. Gen (Retd.) H K Singh, Sobhapati Samom, Utpal Borpujari, Atanu Phukan

Script: Samudra Gupta Kashyap, Utpal Borpujari

Project Coordinator: Sandeep Krishan Vats

Original Background Score: Anurag Saikia

Editor: Parveen Sharma

Cinematographers: Mapuia Chongthu (Mizoram), Irom Maipak (Manipur), Leon Lazarevic (Uk), Paul Leeming (Japan), Chida Bora (Nagaland)

Location Sound: Chta Pachuau (Mizoram), Laishram Devakumar Meitei (Manipur), Seelan Velupillai (Uk), Giles Khan (Japan), Manjit Nath (Nagaland)

Sound Mixing: Bhaskar Sarma

Graphics: Sunil Jaiswal

Colour Grading: Umesh Kumar